The Reason

Chapter 5

'He's everything you want, he's everything you need, he's everything inside of you that you wish you could be. He says all the right things at exactly the right time, but he means nothing to you and you don't know why. You're waiting for someone to put you together, you're waiting for someone to push you away. There's always another wound to discover, there's always something more you wish he'd say.

I am everything you want, I am everything you need, I am everything inside of you that you wish you could be. I say all the right things at exactly the right time, but I mean nothing to you and I don't know why. I don't know.' "Everything You Want" ~ Vertical Horizon

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After another hour, he sighed again, and rubbed his eyes. Basically all that the book talked about was how vampires were created. It was important, yes, but curing them was more important. Why couldn't there just be a section called "Curing Vampirism" in bold print?

He flipped the page, telling himself he would go through two more chapters of this book before he gave up on it, and one more book before he gave up for the night. Then he started laughing as his eyes came to a stop in the middle of the page. It was in italics, not in bold, but there it was just the same.

Three Cures for Three Types of Vampirism

His eyes darted down to the third bullet.

"When a victim is infected by drinking of the sire's blood twice before the final transformation, to cure the victim, the sire must drink of the victim's blood on two separate occasions, and then the victim is safe. This cure must be started before the third and final drawing of blood, the completion of the transformation. The cure will be completely effective, but unless the sire is killed, the victim's transformation can still occur with only one drawing of blood."

"Harry!"

"What? I'm still awake, Draco. There's no need to scare me half to death - I thought someone had discovered me."

"Harry, I found a cure! Quit researching, go to bed, and I'll tell you about it tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Goodnight."

"See you tomorrow."

"Draco? Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, Harry."

Chapter 6

'Now that you're here, I just feel like I'm constantly dreaming, but something's gotta go wrong, 'cause I'm feelin' way too damn good. And it's like... Every time I turn around, I fall in love and find my heart face down, and where it lands is where it should. This time it's like the two of us should probably start to fight, 'cause something's gotta go wrong, 'cause I'm feelin' way too damn good.' "Feeling Way Too Damn Good" ~ Nickelback

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Harry crept silently back into his room, eager to sleep, but the second he took off the Invisibility Cloak, it became obvious that he wasn't going to sleep for quite a while. The second Harry reappeared, Ron sat up and looked at Harry.

"We need to talk," he said in a low voice.

"Fine," Harry whispered. "But not here." Harry turned and walked back downstairs, his mind racing as he plopped down in a chair beside the fire.

Ron sat down beside him and just stared at Harry for a minute.

"So, do you want to tell me what's up?"

"It's complicated, Ron. Trust me, you wouldn't understand. Please, just give me two days, and then I'll explain."

"Harry, you need help - I can tell. Hermione thinks that you're seeing some girl or something else not serious. She didn't say that, but she thought it, and she thinks I'm making a big deal out of nothing. But I can see it in your eyes right now that something is wrong - seriously wrong. Talk to me, Harry, please."

"Ron, I can't. You wouldn't understand - this is big, really big. It's too dangerous, and I can't involve you in it."

"But you can involve Malfoy in it?" Ron hissed furiously.

"What ... What are you talking about? Why would Dra - Malfoy be involved?"

Ron shook his head in disgust. "You never could lie very well, Harry. It was just a hunch, but your face said it all. If I didn't know better, I'd think you and Malfoy were friends."

"Ron, listen to me, I -- "

"No, Harry. I'll give you your two days. You're my best friend, Harry, and no matter what's going on, I'm here for you. So, take the two days, figure out what you need to, but that's it. Tell me the truth and tell all of it that day. After that the offer expires. I'm going to bed now. Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight, Ron."

Harry wanted to shout after him, tell him the whole story - the vampire curse, Draco, the prophecy, even the Sorting Hat wanting to put him in Slytherin - everything. But he didn't, he couldn't.

He was just about to go to bed when a voice spoke, and he stopped, hoping it was Ron, but there was no one there - it was Draco.

"Harry, you're still awake?"

"Yeah," Harry said shortly.

"Well, since we're both awake, we might as well get something done. In order to cure you, we need to know who your sire is. We're going to go back through the memory for clues, or if we're lucky, a glimpse of his face. So I need you to relax, and open your mind to me."

"Fine."

Harry relaxed, and suddenly he could feel Draco's mind exploring his, and then he was suddenly reliving a night he had never known existed. He had never once remembered the dream, and now all of a sudden there was no question of Draco's honesty - it was real. Harry slumped back in the chair, trembling all over. He was a vampire.